Don't Take It Out On Me
by telmeastory
Summary: Vicki Has a very rough date night and wants her roommate to help her relax. Timmy goes out one a date too, but it isn't who he wants to be with...
1. Chapter 1

Timmy looked around the room. He was 26 and doing alright in his life. Well, as well as he could be expected to do. He had graduated from high school and gotten a full-ride to play soccer at Dimmsdale State. It had been a great opportunity and he had been good. They had won the conference in his first year and in his second they made the NCAA finals. He had been pulled hard by the MLS and even had a few European clubs come calling. He had been living the dream.

Sadly, not all dreams last. During a trip to hike the Grand Canyon with Chester and AJ the following summer, he had taken a nasty fall. He'd broken his ankle and torn his ACL in the process, which was followed by him missing the next season. The team slipped back down to about a 3 or 4 seed in the conference and missed the NCAA tournament. Timmy had pressed himself hard to get back into shape as he recovered, but nothing was ever the same. He was still good, but not the level of great that had brought teams to his doorstep before. He had become almost an afterthought.

Never one to let these sort of things get him down, Timmy had jumped into his studies and taken up coaching in a youth league. He had foregone his last season of eligibility, which worked out well because the coach had already been leaning toward benching him in favor of trying to get some experience for some new talent.

Studies-wise, Timmy had decided to try his hand in the classroom. He was pretty good with words and had started as an English Major, but as his soccer career fell apart and he fell in love with working with students, he decided that Secondary Education English was where he would focus his time. And he had taken to it like a monkey to climbing. He was still fit and attractive and had taken the reigns as coach for the soccer teams when he started his first job, now living in a small town in North Carolina. The pressures from his past and his memories had led to him really wanting to get away, so he had taken the job here. Life was slower paced, but work was rewarding. He had apparently been a really good coach. Having been there three years, he had led both the men's and women's teams to 3 straight conference championships, 2 state finals, and a state title each.

And now here he found himself staring at the room he was standing in. The quiet life had become anything but quiet over the past few years. He'd found a great roommate, which worked well even if they were at one another's throats most of the time. And Chester had decided to become a game and wildlife warden. He had found a job near Timmy about a year after Timmy had moved there. Then things had taken a crazy twist. Tootie had moved to NC as well, about a town over.

That was where Timmy found himself currently. He had gone out to dinner with Tootie for a function she was managing. Something to do with a non-profit she was running now. He had listened during dinner and knew it had something to do with childhood cancer, but as quickly as she talked, it was all he'd been able to catch. Dinner had been pleasant and she had invited him back to her place. She had just gone into the kitchen to get some "tea" for them. He was a bit concerned when she had put air-quotes around the word tea, but he shook it off to take advantage of the time to evaluate the space.

Tootie lived in a nice quiet two bedroom apartment. Apparently the job was treating her reasonably well, if stressful. He knew she had been very busy recently and this was, according to her, her first chance to sit down in weeks. He laughed a bit.

Tootie had given up her obsession over him in middle school, but they had stayed friends. And when she moved out here to NC last year, the two had grown close again, Chester right along with them. Timmy's roommate didn't get along too well with them, but that was to be expected.

He turned his attention back to her as she entered the room. They both moved to sit on the couch and talk. As Timmy sat there trying to take in her fast pace, he couldn't focus. His mind was somewhere else…with someone else…

After about an hour, Timmy sat his cup down. Their conversation had died down about 10 minutes before and they had both just been enjoying the peace and quiet when there was a crash of thunder. Tootie jumped at this, before looking over at him. She smiled, and moved closer to him. Timmy suddenly realized she did not look very happy.

"What's wrong Tootie?" She just stared off into space, till another crash made her slide closer to him once again.

"Scared of Thunderstorms?" She nodded at this. He offered his arm, and she slid into his embrace. She had grown up into a gorgeous woman, alongside her brilliance which had led to her being in the job she was in anyhow. He looked down and couldn't help but notice each and every gorgeous curve of her figure as she pressed against him. And he couldn't help himself…

…but he really wished she was someone else.

They sat there silently for a moment before Tootie felt the tension in the air.

"So…you don't really want to be here, do you?" She ventured, hesitantly. Timmy caught himself and snapped back to full awareness.

"W-What do you mean? I like being here with you." He almost jumped to say it.

"But there is someone else you'd rather be with?" He looked down, trying to gage what she was thinking. This date had been their idea and it seemed mutually exciting when it was proposed. But now, staring at her eyes, he knew the truth.

"Yes." He shook his head and looked down at his shoes, away from her.

"It's ok. Now that we're here, I think there is someone else I would rather have here too."

Timmy looked down at her in confusion. She just smiled back at him before sitting up and placing a kiss on his cheek.

"Go get her already." She pushed him to his feet. As he made his way out into the rain, she could hear him grumbling. She wasn't sure exactly what he said, but she knew it was going to be an interesting night. As he shut the door, she pulled out her own cell phone to text the someone she was missing.


	2. Chapter 2: Vicki's Date

Vicki shook the water out of her hair as she stomped under the overhang outside her apartment. She had just gotten back from a bad date and the rain had certainly not helped. She was going to kill her friend for setting up this date. But right now, she just needed to let off some steam. She needed to relax, but in recent years, there had only been one person who could really manage that. Her roommate.

As she puffed out her breath and sat down on the couch, she thought about her roommate. That hair…those eyes. Even that smile. Maybe that was why dating guys never seemed to work out.

Not that it mattered. Her roommate was off on a date with someone special. She wouldn't get in the way of that. Not that she really knew if she wanted to. She and her roommate had a history and almost all of it was bad. Of course that was nothing new for Vicki. For her, her history with most people was bad. She thought about the Twerp and how she had treated him. She thought about his friends and even her sister. She had been so rude. And in the end, it had bitten her in the ass. Soon as she turned 18, she had been thrown from her parents' house. She'd spent some time on the road travelling a bit before managing to get some semblance of balance. She had made her own way through to an associate's degree and even a bachelor's degree and was now working at a local daycare as the assistant director. It was a job she loved and loathed all at once.

So she had settled down in town, now 32. She'd had several partners over the years, but no one stuck around. They were all either too put out by her attitude (she couldn't curb her mean side for some reason) or they were more rude than her. Either way, they all ended. And when they ended, it was bad.

She'd finally found some peace over the last few years and a constant roommate who could put up with her. It helped her live with a bit more than just PB&J sandwiches and Ramen, so that was nice. Every time she had tried a roommate before, it often ended up like her experiences with love, but this time it had been different. Her most recent roomie had discovered some way of putting up with her and even to make her feel better. But she knew her roommate just put up with her, being in a similar situation. It wasn't really that her roomie cared about her, just placated her. And she knew there was a chance that could change since they were both out on dates.

Well, she wasn't anymore. She thought back on her date. It had been a blind date arranged by a friend. The friend had told her which restaurant and what time and what to look for. Vicki, trying to be nice, had followed the instructions. It was a nice place, if a bit low key. But what else could you expect in a small town like this. This far east, some people's families had literally been here for centuries. You just rolled with it.

So she had gone in, searching for her date. Once she found him, the two settled down into their table. It had been awkward at first, and she knew it was her fault. After several tense minutes, the waiter had come to take their drink orders. Vicki had been worried, but her date offered to cover dinner and she relaxed. Well, for a free meal she could certainly be friendly at the very least.

The conversation had lightened up them. Lightened up as in it had actually started. Vicki even found herself laughing a time or two. But soon things had gone downhill. While they were talking, both could tell that neither of them truly wanted to be there. Then their server had spilled Vicki's lemonade in her lap. Her date, in trying to help, had stood up and hit the table which led to her food also collecting in her lap. As if things couldn't get worse, when she stood to go to the restroom to clean herself up, she had bumped into another server who had flipped a tiramisu over onto her hair. Then to top off her perfect night, her date had decided laughing was the best course of action. Feeling not only angry, but on the verge of tears, Vicki told her date off. She said some choice words and informed him that if he didn't want to be there with her, he could leave. She had then stomped off to the bathroom to clean herself up as much as possible.

When she had returned to the table, her date was gone. The server returned with a note saying her felt it was best if he had not stuck around. To make matters worse, He had only paid for his half of the dinner, though he did cover the desert which had ended up in her hair. As Vicki had paid the rest of the bill, she heard the thunder start to crash. 'Great' she had thought, 'rain and I walked here.' She had stormed home, managing to hit nearly every puddle it felt like.

As she turned on the lights upon entering her apartment, she began to cry. It had been the night from hell and she was miserable. She was never this miserable. She had made other people miserable, but nothing had ever managed to get to her. She had been too strong. But her being strong had started to fail over the last few years. Her roommate more than anyone had gotten through that. Then she thought ab out her roommate again…that hair, those eyes. That smile which always made her feel better. Suddenly Vicki knew who she had been thinking about and craving during dinner. She knew exactly who she wanted to see right now.

Suddenly she heard something at the front door. She thought it wounded like someone fumbling with keys, so she made her way over and slung the door open, expecting…

….Chester? What was he doing here?

"What do you want?" She said, venom dripping from every word.

"Ummm…hi Vivki. Uhhh…is Timmy here?"

Vicki could feel her face flush. The felt the anger coming back, but there were still tears in the way. She wanted to beat him. She looked down at the blond man before her.

"No." As she turned to stalk away, dropping herself into the couch, she shouted at him. "Why don't you try texting him?"

"Oh yeah." She was pissed. This jerk was still standing in her apartment. She was furious. Why couldn't he just leave already? Just as she was prepared to shout at him again, she heard him shuffle into the living room.

"Umm, Vicki, about tonight. I'm sorry. It was wrong of me to laugh and to leave." He was blushing and Vicki had to stop her own head from exploding. She was pissed already and now he had to bring that up. She stood up, tears now pouring down her face. She opened her mouth to shout at him when he stopped her.

"Look, I'm leaving. Don't worry. I'm sorry." With that he turned and made his way back to the apartment door. As she slumped back down on the couch, she heard him stop at the door. He turned to look at her, forcing her to look into his eyes.

"You know how you said I wanted to be there with someone else tonight? Well, you're right. But I wasn't the only one."

With that, he pulled the door open and left. As he did, Vicki curled up into a ball and cried. She cried and bawled until she was dry sobbing and forcing herself to cough. She hated this feeling. She wanted her roommate to be there to tell her it would all be better. But her roommate was off on a date.

As she thought this, she heard the door slowly creak open. She kept her head down, still sobbing. She heard whoever was creeping in steal silently over to her. As she felt them come to stand in front of her, she prepared to look up, expecting Chester to be back. Instead she looked up and saw her roommate before her.


	3. Chapter 3: The Roommate

She saw his brunette hair, his blue eyes, staring back at her. She hesitated between a smile and a laugh as his drenched hair fell into his eyes. And knowing what she wanted to do, she reacted the only way Vicki knew how.

She smacked him, hard. She smacked his face and punched his arm before standing up. She turned, almost glowering at him. She couldn't stand over him anymore. He was a good 6' taller than her. She couldn't threaten to beat him up any more (though she still did) because he had a good 50 pounds on her, all pure muscle. He was built like a trim and fit brick wall. And he was so nice and sweet and she knew staring at him that she loved him. All she wanted him to do was hold her. She stood there once again on the verge of tears when he spoke.

"Don't take it out on me…"Before he could finish, she hit him again. Then she turned and ran, no longer caring about the tears flowing. She sprinted through the front door and ran. She rand hard and fast. She was reasonably fit since she jogged every day. But with having heard him say that, she knew the one persona she had ever truly loved would never love her. She knew how he saw her.

And she wanted to hate him for it. For not loving her. But she knew she deserved it. She had been so terrible. So rude. So mean for so many years. She had travelled across the country to get away from her past, but it had seemed to follow her. Timmy and his friends had followed her it felt and they all ended up in this same small town.

Then it had started as a joke. Timmy had moved to town and needed a roommate. She had needed one and he happened to call her about her open room. The two had met and been nervous, but things had gone well. Even when Chester and Tootie had made it to town, they had been open. She didn't spend much time with them, but they were important to Timmy so she dealt. He had been such a good roommate and such a nice person to her. At some point, she had fallen in love with him, and she knew it. She had never told him and after how he responded to her just then, she never could.

VXVXVXVXVXVXVXVXVXVXVXVXVXVXVXVXVX

Shaking himself from shock, Timmy called after her. The fiery redhead had not even let him finish. Timmy thought back about the two of them. She had infuriated him when she was his babysitter, angering him and trying to annoy him. Most of the time it had worked and he had hated her. But when she had left his life, he realized he had missed her. He always came home to an empty house with notes from his parents.

He had even pushed himself to try calling the Valentine residence a time or two to see if he could talk to her for old time's sake. That hadn't worked either as Vicki's parents had just hung up when he had asked for Vicki. Tootie had told him that Vicki had run away when she turned 18. This always felt odd to Timmy and really didn't seem like a Vicki kind of move. But he had just stood by and waited, not knowing what to do. He had found a way to go on with his life, through soccer. And when soccer was gone, through teaching.

Then he had somehow, through some strange twist of fate, found her in NC. It felt weird, to be honest, the first time he saw her. He had called the number from the board about a room in an apartment and had gone to meet her. As soon as he'd seen those pink eyes and that red hair, he knew he should be terrified. He should run and scream in fear. But he didn't want to. He had, instead, wanted to figure out what was going on. He had wanted to be in her life because she was the only one who had ever given him the time of day, even if it was a very rough time.

So they had become roommates. They spent a great deal of time together and over time he found Vicki and time with her almost…nice. He found himself pleasantly surprised when she did the dishes and enjoyed when she would hang out and watch TV with him. He had even managed to convince her to come to a few games, which he found strangely thrilling. And along the way he had fallen in love with her.

He was too scared to say anything. She was just humoring him. He was willing to put up with being her roommate, so he figured she was just being nice. But he had enjoyed it. He had gone out on different dates and seen women during their time living together, but nothing ever came of it. They always couldn't live up to his expectations, which were, strangely enough, based on her. And she had dated too, but it never seemed to work out. The guy was always a jerk, or thought she wasn't good enough. She would come home upset and take it out on Timmy. Timmy would always make her smile and just as he tried to get comfortable with her, she would shove him away and put her wall right back up. It was infuriating!

Timmy watched as the door closed. Then he sprinted to his room to grab something before tearing out the door after her. He looked every direction but had no idea where she was. She'd had a few steps on him and with her being such an avid jogger that was enough. He was fit himself, but running long distances was not easy on his repaired knee. He had spent time in therapy getting it back in shape, but long runs…well, those were a part of his past now.

So he stood as the rain drenched him. He took root and thought. Where would she go?

After waiting for a moment, Timmy knew and took off heading for the water.


	4. Chapter 4: Let me

Vicki sat on the dock, her knees in her chest crying. She was soaked, her make-up was everywhere, and she was freezing. But none of that mattered. She was so upset.

No, that wasn't it. She was heartbroken. She didn't have any right to feel this way about him, but she did. And his turning her down like that hurt, even if she had never told him how she felt. As she sat staring over the turbulent waters, she felt the torrential downpour suddenly disappear. She looked and noted the rain had not stopped, it had just stopped from hitting her. She looked back over her shoulder and was shocked to see him standing there. She almost fell over backwards into the water, and would have if not for his arm grabbing hers to steady her.

He was holding an umbrella over her. He knelt down beside her, making sure not a drop of water was getting on her even though he looked like a drowning cat. He watched her for a few minutes before offering her his hand.

"Miss Valentine, would you please come take a walk with me?"

She stared at his hand, oddly wondering what she should do. So he made the decision for her. He quickly grasped her hand and pulled her to her feet into a tight embrace with him.

"You'll catch a death of cold out here."

She mumbled something under her breath, but he didn't hear. He also knew it wasn't time to pry, so he continued.

"Vicki, listen. I'm sorry your night didn't go well. And I am far more sorry if any of that is my fault. But please, do me this one favor." Here he stopped to turn her to face him. He stared into her pink eyes and she could feel him hesitate. Timmy had always been timid, but now he seemed unsure. That had never been Timmy, even when she had been scaring the living daylights out of him. She looked back and nodded for him to go on.

"Don't take it out on me…"She tried to turn, to pull away. She didn't want to hear this again. She couldn't take it. But he held her firm. She was pressed right up against him and she couldn't move. Suddenly he held her in a real hug. Vicki melted into it in spite of herself. And she heard him whisper in her ear.

"…Unless you are going to let me get close to the woman I love."

Suddenly Vicki froze. The wind was pretty high out here and she wasn't sure she heard right. More than that, she wasn't sure how she should react. He didn't really feel this way, he had been out on a date with another woman.

"But what about Tootie?"

"What about your sister? She spent our entire date thinking about a certain blond boy you had stolen from her."

Vicki just stared, so Timmy went on.

"Vicki, I don't want to just be your roommate. I want to be there for you, just like I always have. But that isn't good enough for me. I'm selfish. I want all of you in return. I want to make you feel better, to make you laugh and cry. I want to make sure you never go out again with a jerk who isn't good enough for you."

He stopped and lifted her chin so he could look into her eyes. They were only inches apart and Vicki knew she wanted to be closer.

"Vicki, I don't just want to be your roommate. I want to love you the way you deserve to be loved; with everything I am."

Here he finally gave in and closed the distance between the two. His lips met hers with years of pent up passion. He kissed her in a way Vicki never knew it was possible for one person to kiss another and she knew it felt amazing. She knew she never wanted it to stop. Then she raised her arms to his neck, making sure he couldn't get away.

And Vicki felt herself crying. She didn't know why. As they broke the kiss, she cried harder. And Timmy looked at her with a very concerned expression gracing his face.

"I'm sorry Vicki. I should not have done that. I'll go if you want." He pressed the umbrella into her hand and turned to walk away. Suddenly her hand was in his. She stopped.

"Twerp….Timmy….wait. Please don't go. Don't leave me." He turned back to see her staring at him with a passion he didn't know Vicki possessed. He smiled and curled back into her, wrapping his arms around her as he took of his rain coat to wrap it around her. She felt warm in the embrace of the jacket, but it was nothing compared to how his holding her felt.

"Never. Not unless you tell me in all earnestness that you don't want me there. Even then, you may have to chase me away."

Vicki let out a small chuckle before placing her tear and rain soaked face against his chest. She could hear his heart pounding and she loved how it sounded. She didn't want to shut him out anymore and based on what he had said, he didn't want to be shut out anymore. She pulled back and stared up into his bright blue eyes.

"Timmy, let's go home.


End file.
